We recently had a reader ask us a question which caused us to do a double-take: “How can I test for inorganic arsenic in salt water?”

Previously we had never considered this topic, as we had forgotten that some areas of the country have salt water entering their aquifers due to close proximity to oceans. An oversight on our part, yes, but now we have thought about and have since gotten an answer to that question from Ivars Jaunakais, developer of the Arsenic Quick Test Kit. For those unfamiliar with the Arsenic Quick Test Kit, it makes testing water in the field for both low and high levels of inorganic arsenic as easy as testing for them in a laboratory setting.

This is to inform you that the Econo Quick II kit worked without question to give accurate readings with undiluted Ocean Water. I spiked ocean water with 50PPB inorganic arsenic and recovered visually and by Arsenic Scan 100 % of the spiked arsenic. It can be safely assumed that all our Arsenic kits will work with Ocean Water. If the customer uses brackish Ocean water that has a lot of suspended material or living microorganisms present the recommendation from me would be to allow the sediment to settle out (about ½ hour) or to filter sediment out before testing with out kit. But even this step is only recommended by me; and may be unnecessary.

The ocean water for testing should not be stored before testing, since microorganisms can convert inorganic arsenic to organic arsenic. As you know our test cannot detect organic arsenic.

Ivars Jaunakais, President of Industrial Test Systems

The following links will take you to a site where you can purchase Arsenic Quick Test Kits:

Arsenic in Water Test Kit 0, 0.010, 0.025, 0.050, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5, 1.0 ppb/cm² (IT-487928) Perform 300 Tests, Results in 12 Minutes	IT-487928
Arsenic in Water Test Kit 0, 0.010, 0.025, 0.050, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5, 1.0 ppb/cm² (IT-487928) Perform 300 Tests, Results in 12 Minutes	IT-487928
Arsenic in Water Test Kit 0, 0.3, 0.7, 1.0, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 13, 20 & >20 ppb (481300-5) Perform 5 Tests, Results in 12 Minutes	481300-5
Arsenic in Water Test Kit 0, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 & >500 ppb (481396-2) Perform 2 Tests, Results in 12 Minutes	481396-2
Arsenic in Water Test Kit 0, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 & >500 ppb (481396-5) Perform 5 Tests, Results in 12 Minutes	481396-5
Arsenic in Water Test Kit <1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, 20, 25, 30, 40, >50, >80, >120, >160 ppb (481303) Perform 50 Tests, Results in 14 Minutes	481303
Arsenic in Water Test Kit <1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, 20, 25, 30, 40, >50, >80, >120, >160 ppb (481303-5) Perform 5 Tests, Results in 14 Minutes	481303-5
Arsenic in Water Test Kit <2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 18, 24, 30, 40, 45 & >50 ppb (481297-2) Perform 2 Tests, Results in 12 Minutes	481297-2
Arsenic in Water Test Kit <2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 18, 24, 30, 40, 45 & >50 ppb (481297-I) Perform 50 Tests, Results in 12 Minutes	481297-I